A Cookie and a Bagel
by AngelMatvey
Summary: A collection of one-shots involving various RWBY characters and the shenanigans in which they partake. Lots of AU, not much continuity. Rated T because I have a bit of a potty mouth sometimes. Ch. 1: Weiss works as a barista at a campus bakery/coffee shop, and Ruby is that weird freshman who comes in and orders the exact same thing every day.
1. A Cookie and a Bagel

Weiss passed the cup of steaming coffee across the counter. The crow Faunus gave a mumbled thanks, and she briefly considered lecturing him about proper social behavior, but the bags under his eyes and the fact that he was ordering an espresso at 2 in the afternoon heavily implied the fact that he was already suffering enough under the pressure of finals. It was still the week before actual exams, but many students had projects and papers to finish up. Or begin, in some cases.

Weiss glanced up at the clock. 2:14. It was almost the end of her shift, and the girl was fourteen minutes late. Was she not going to show up? Weiss had taken the trouble to prepare her order ahead of time, as she often did, but now it seemed that her foresight was to be in vain.

No, that wasn't possible. The girl almost _never_ missed a day. Every single day at 2:00 pm, the freshman with the red backpack would come trouncing through the door and up to the counter (since there was almost never anyone waiting in line in the middle of the afternoon despite the bakery's popularity on the small campus) and demand−

"One whole-wheat bagel and a chocolate chip cookie, please!"

Weiss nearly jumped out of her skin, the voice erupting right across from the counter. How had she not seen the girl enter? The barista shot the grinning girl a furious glare, but quickly smoothed her expression.

"Welcome to the Beacon Bakery and Coffee Shop. I'll have your order momentarily."

The brunette suppressed a giggle. "You looked surprised."

Weiss gave a huff, not dignifying the girl with an answer. Instead, she swept up the prepared order and passed it over the counter.

"That will be $1.94," she informed the girl, who still was looking rather pleased with herself. As if she had done anything to be proud of! "How will you be paying?"

"Cash. You had it set aside for me?" Weiss met the girl's silver gaze, and she felt herself getting embarrassed again. This kid!

"Of course! You come in every day and order the _same exact thing_. I see you every shift, so I had it memorized by the second week!" Weiss realized her voice was starting to pitch up, so she cleared her throat and waited as the other girl went digging for her wallet.

Weiss took the moment, not for the first time, to examine the brunette. Her clothes were normal enough, but childish in design. Everything about the girl seemed childish. A round face, short stature, loud and bubbly nature, even the food that she ordered was better fit for a seven-year-old than a college student. As much as she wanted to be disgusted, though, Weiss couldn't help but find the girl a little bit amusing too.

"Not _every_ day…" the freshman mumbled, still trying to find her elusive wallet in the various pockets of her bright crimson backpack, but then brightened again. "Ah, here we go!"

But it couldn't ever be that easy. Weiss sighed internally as the girl dumped out a handful of change onto the counter.

"A dollar ninety-four, right? Twenty-five, fifty, seventy-five, eighty-five, ninety…" She slid the coins towards Weiss as she counted. The barista let out an audible groan, though she knew it would make no difference.

"You could just give me two dollars and I'd give you back six cents!" she complained, but the other girl predictably shook her head.

"Nope! I have a lot of coins and I need to get rid of them. Here, ninety-four cents, and here's a dollar!"

Weiss accepted the change, and the girl scooped the rest of the coins back into her wallet before gathering up her bagel and cookie. Before she left, the girl gave Weiss a little wave.

"Bye, Weiss!" she called, a megawatt grin lighting up her face. The barista simply rolled her eyes in response, turning to wipe off the counter to hide a creeping smile. Freshmen are weird.

* * *

><p>"Oh, shoot, it's that time already?" Ruby sprang off of her bed and grabbed her backpack. Jaune glanced up from his DS, frowning in confusion.<p>

"What time? Where are you going?" he asked, knowing that Ruby didn't have any more classes on Tuesdays.

"Oh, just grabbing something from the bakery, I'll be back in a second." Ruby continued to pull on her jacket as she spoke, then grabbed her keys from her desk.

"From the bakery? Ruby, we're in the middle of a battle! Don't tell me you're running away?"

At that, Ruby laughed. "As if! My Houndoom's going to kick your sorry butt in a minute, but first I have to get down there. It'll only be a minute, I promise!"

With that, the girl was gone. Jaune sighed heavily, flopping back onto his friend's bed as he waited for her to return. He knew she liked going to the bakery, it was quite the popular place on campus after all, but couldn't she wait until their battle was finished at least? He had a secret weapon prepared and everything!

Ruby sighed with relief when she saw the familiar snowy hair of the prickly barista behind the counter. She was worried she'd be too late and miss the girl's shift. But there she was, those same icy blue eyes softening just a touch with recognition. Ruby felt herself grinning as she approached the counter, but she didn't even need to speak before the other girl stepped back and retrieved her order.

"I didn't even tell you what I wanted," Ruby informed the older girl as she searched for her wallet in her bag.

"You didn't need to. Unless you'd like to change things up today?" Her voice was cool and even as always. So composed, so dignified. But Ruby knew from experience that it didn't take much to poke holes in her façade of professionalism.

"Maybe I would!" she declared, scratching her chin with one hand thoughtfully. "I'll have an M&M cookie today, I think." Wow, the more Ruby considered it, the better that idea sounded. She caught a brief look of frustration on Weiss's face, and she couldn't help but giggle. "Actually, I'll have two. I just ditched my friend in the middle of a Pokemon battle to come down here, so I should probably bring him something."

"You ditched your friend to come to a bakery? We're open until 6, you know."

Ruby leaned her elbow on the counter as Weiss retrieved the desired baked goods. "Well, yeah, but your shift ends at 2:30, right?"

"…Yes," came her careful reply, the barista eyeing Ruby warily. It took her a moment to realize just what she'd said.

"Oh! Um. Well, yeah, I guess I could come in at any time. It's not a crime to want to say hello to a friend though, right?" Ruby felt her face heating up with embarrassment. She had never planned on admitting the fact that she'd memorized the other girl's schedule. Dust, she must seem super creepy now! And− oh Dust, was she still talking? "… not exactly _friends_ per se, have I even told you my name? I'm Ruby, by the way, freshman Graphic Design major."

Ruby stuck out her hand, hoping beyond hope that the cute barista didn't blow her off, oh Dust please. Ruby wasn't sure if she would be able to handle that. Sure, the other girl had never exactly been too approachable, and it took a solid two weeks to even strike up any sort of conversation with her, but Ruby was sure that the two of them had made _some_ progress towards friendship.

After a few agonizing seconds of hesitation, Weiss cautiously took the other girl's hand and shook it stiffly.

"Weiss Schnee. Third-year, Business Administration. It's, er, nice to meet you Ruby." She retracted her hand quickly, sliding the two cookies and the bagel to Ruby, who sheepishly accepted them and handed her money over in return. Two dollars, rather than change. This time, instead of coming up with excuses to stick around longer, Ruby just wanted to get the hell out of there. Her face was on fire, and she was sure that she looked absolutely ridiculous.

Weiss handed Ruby her change and receipt, and the brunette quickly retreated to the doorway. But a thought made her pause.

"Hey, Weiss? Will you, um, will you be working here next semester too?"

The barista was still giving her that weird look, but Ruby's heart rose when she saw the corner of the girl's lip twitch, the barest hint of a smile.

"Yes, I have arranged to have the same hours next semester. I assume I'll be seeing more of you?"

Ruby felt herself smiling again. "You bet!"

* * *

><p><em>This was from a prompt that I can't find now, but it went something like "yes I know I keep coming to the cookie shop during your shift but it's finals week and I need these for my sanity don't you dare judge". I originally planned to reverse their roles, but there's just something intrinsically amusing to me about the idea of Weiss being forced to act professionally around Ruby. This particular story can be taken as platonic or romantic, I leave it up to interpretation.<em>

_I haven't written anything in a_ long_ time, and this was my__ first RWBY fic, so advice is greatly appreciated. I might do more of these 'cause I have a nice list of AUs that I'd like to sink my teeth into and the cast of RWBY is fucking hilarious. But no promises._

_Also, the crow Faunus is both an original character and a self-insert. Finals week is rough._


	2. Cat Smuggling

Yang took a deep drag of the cigarette, then slowly exhaled. The smoke was immediately whipped away by the blustering wind. Yang wrapped her arms a little tighter as she leaned against the balcony railing, looking out across the parking lot. She didn't smoke often, but a Bio project due the next morning had her looking for a way to calm her nerves.

Another drag and Yang was ready to retreat out of the cold and back into her apartment.

_Though with the Ice Queen in there, it'll probably be just as frigid_, Yang thought, chuckling to herself. The project required a group of three, so of course Ruby had volunteered herself (and, by extension, Yang) to join with the Schnee girl. Yang hadn't been happy about this development, though she had to admit that Weiss was quite effective at getting work done. The girl was _brutally_ efficient, Yang had never seen someone get Ruby to work so hard.

Stubbing the cigarette out on the nearby ashtray, Yang was about to turn back when she spotted movement on the far side of the parking lot. The girl peered out, expecting to see a dog, or maybe a deer. Instead, a human emerged from the thicket of trees at the edge of the lot.

_Oh, right, _Yang mused, _there's a walking trail back there. But who takes a walk at…_ She checked her watch. _One-thirty in the morning? Especially someone her age, what the hell is she doing out this late?_

The girl walked across the parking lot slowly, carrying a rather large box with a blanket tossed over it. She was clearly heading towards Yang's building, and the way she kept shifting the box made it seem like it was quite a burden on her.

Before Yang really knew what she was doing, she was making her way downstairs to the front door. Weiss's whining and Ruby's questioning gaze were easily ignored as she passed. Because of the other girl's slow and steady pace Yang easily made it down to the building's entrance before she got to the steps. Yang swung the door open, gesturing grandly with a broad grin.

The dark-haired girl was momentarily surprised by Yang's sudden appearance, but she quickly smothered any emotion on her face and replaced her expression with a blank and unamused stare that could give Weiss a run for her money.

"Thank you," she said after a moment, shifting the box in her arms and hopping up the concrete steps. However, just as she stepped through the doorway, Yang heard a rather unusual sound.

_Mrrrrrow._

* * *

><p>Blake's step faltered, and she prayed to any deities that might have been listening that the blonde hadn't heard the sound. A single raised eyebrow told her that her prayers had been in vain.<p>

"What the hey was _that_?" the girl asked, closing the door behind Blake. Her heart skipped a beat.

"My stomach," she replied smoothly, turning away again. The blonde scoffed, and Blake knew that her lie was fimsy at best, but it would have to do. If this girl found out what she was carrying and reported her… _Oh please, Shroud, just be quiet for a minute longer. We're almost home._

This time, the sound was unmistakable.

_Mrrrroooooowwwww?_

"Holy shit, was that a−"

"Shhh!" Blake glanced behind her, but the hallway was empty and silent except for the two of them. Most of the other residents were in their rooms asleep, like reasonable people would be at this time of the morning. Blake had been counting on everyone else being asleep, so she could sneak her package back safely.

"That _is_, isn't it?" The blonde shook her head. "I'd tell you pets aren't allowed in the building, but that's probably why you've got the blanket, huh?"

The cat shifted in the pet carrier and meowed again, probably curious about who was talking. Blake shushed him softly before looking back up.

"Please, listen, I'm just taking care of him for a couple days, he belongs to a friend−"

The blonde girl waved her off. "Oh, don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna report you or anything, I'm not that much of an ass."

Blake sighed internally. "Thank you."

That got the other girl grinning again. "Name's Yang. I live in 202 with my cousin Ruby." She stuck her hand out as if to shake, but then seemed to realize that Blake's own were occupied. "Err, nevermind with that. But what's your name?"

"Blake," she replied quietly, hoping her short response sounded dismissive enough. This girl seemed nice enough, but Shroud was getting restless again, and call her paranoid but Blake still wasn't sure that Yang didn't plan on reporting her to the apartment owner the minute Blake turned her back.

Unfortunately, Yang seemed unfazed, and even started to follow Blake as she ascended the stairs.

"Blake, huh? Yeah, everyone has a rule or two they break. I take the batteries out of the smoke detector when it's raining and I need a cigarette. My cousin turns the oven on and sits in front of it when she's cold. You have a cat."

Blake sighed heavily. She had picked Shroud up from her friend Adam's house a good ten minutes ago, and trekking through a poorly-kept walking trail at 1:30 in the morning carrying a rather heavy cat had already worn down her nerves quite a bit.

"Listen, I appreciate that you're not planning on reporting me," Blake growled, spinning around at the top of the stairs and glaring down at Yang, "but I doubt that all the people who can hear your yelling will be as kind."

Blake regretted her words instantly. _Oh shit, what if she gets mad and decides to report me anyways?_

Instead of angry, though, Yang looked mortified. She slapped a hand over her mouth, and whispered a barely-audible "sorry" between her fingers.

* * *

><p>Yang unlocked the door for Blake and closed it behind her. Blake quickly set the pet carrier on the ground and, pulling the blanket away, unzipped the front. Shroud practically fell over himself trying to free himself of the horrid cage, and Yang giggled at the sight.<p>

"Aren't cats supposed to be graceful?"

"He _is_ graceful!" Blake snapped back, feebly attempting to defend the cat. "I doubt you'd be too elegant after getting stuck in a dark cage and jostled around for fifteen minutes."

"I suppose that's a good point." Yang shrugged, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "I'm more used to dogs than cats, I've never really been around one before. Why do you even have him, by the way? I mean, since pets are kind of banned in the whole apartment complex after all."

Blake looked down at the coal-black cat, who was currently sitting triumphantly on the flattened pet carrier. "I found him as a kitten earlier last year. I was going to just nurse him back to health and take him to a shelter, but that never really happened."

She shrugged, not sure why she was telling all of this to a stranger. The blonde girl looked honestly interested, though, lavender eyes quietly urging her to continue. "There was some maintenance work scheduled to be done in here today, so I cleaned up a bit and brought Shroud over to a friend's place yesterday. Most people are asleep by now, so I've never really had a problem before."

Yang hummed, crossing her arms and nodding solemnly. "Speaking of being asleep, I should probably head back let you go to bed. My partner's gonna chew me out as it is, if she's not too busy hitting on my cousin or being generally insufferable."

The woman opened the door and stepped back into the hallway. Just before she shut the door, though, Yang stuck her head back in. "By the way, if you ever need to stick you-know-who somewhere for a couple days and don't feel like wandering out in the woods in the middle of the night, you could always just send him our way. Ruby _loves_ animals, and I'd be glad to help out."

Blake gave her a nod of acknowledgement, and Yang closed the door. As the girl turned her attention back to her apartment, she thought she heard skipping down the hall.

* * *

><p><em>Alternatively: Weiss catches Blake smuggling cats, Blake spends three hours trying to convince her not to report the incident. This version sounded significantly less fun to write, though, and it'd probably be even more boring to read. Sorry, Monochrome, maybe next time. <em>

_Inspired by __thewifigoingdownformostoftheday I mean __the prompt "you're the RA and you're trying to bust me for having hermit crabs". Significantly altered, obviously, but this particular tale was actually based on a true story. A friend of mine has a cat in an apartment complex that doesn't allow cats (brilliant, I know), and I helped them smuggle said cat back into their apartment. But we didn't get caught. Step it up, Blake. _

_This story could be seen as a continuation of the last, I guess? I didn't write it with that intention, but I kind of like the idea. Also, smoking is not a habit that you should pick up. There are many less addictive and (frankly) gross ways of soothing your nerves. Not to mention cigarettes are expensive, use that money on something that's not trying to kill you._


	3. Importance

She was going to be important, he just knew it. Call it a sixth sense, or perhaps simple intuition, but he always had a good eye for people. He could tell at a glance whether someone was going to make waves or fade into obscurity. He had no use for or interest in the latter, ordinary shopkeepers or lowly grunts. Useless fodder, only good for furthering those with ambition.

But her, he knew from the instant he laid eyes on her that she was planning something big. If politicians and mafia bosses made waves, she made typhoons. And if the metaphor held, only those close to the center would avoid destruction. So that's _exactly_ where Roman planned to be when all hell broke loose.

Cinder liked to work from the shadows, so it was only logical for her to need someone willing to be in the spotlight. The White Fang were good for grunt work, but what good was a shadowy organization without a figurehead?

In the end, everyone would get what they want. Cinder Fall would raise hell or whatever it was she planned to do, the White Fang would get their little rebellion, and Roman… well, he'd get his fifteen minutes of fame, though it would be quite a bit more than that if all went according to plan. After all, who was going to forget the man who helped bring about a revolution?

But first things first, he needed to get her attention.

* * *

><p>"In position, Boss."<p>

Roman pulled the radio from his coat pocket. "Wonderful. Keep an eye on that front door, and let me know if you see anything odd."

He ignored the man's affirmative reply, pocketing the radio again. Switching his cane to his right hand again, Roman gestured with his left for the five men lounging in the back of the van.

"You hear that, boys? It's showtime."

The driver pulled the van out from the alleyway and parked it near the Dust shop, careful not to obstruct the view of the sniper nearby. A bit extreme for a simple robbery, sure, but Roman was pulling no stops on this particular venture. He knew _exactly_ who was watching.

Despite the seriousness of the occasion, Roman couldn't help his flair for theatrics, pushing the double-doors open grandly and striding up to the counter. The man behind it, quite youthful despite his iron-grey hair, looked visibly startled by Roman's entrance. Probably due to the fact that a sign on the door clearly said CLOSED. But Roman had no time for such petty matters.

He leaned one elbow on the countertop, smiling broadly. "Evening, sir! I'll take your finest samples, if you would be so kind!"

The young man, hardly more than a boy, looked understandably anxious, even moreso as five large men in dark suits followed Roman through the doorway.

"Oh," Roman purred, glancing over his shoulder at the men, "and we won't be paying."

* * *

><p>The robbery went well, as usual. The shopkeeper held it together surprisingly well, they usually panicked or started crying. Sometimes both. This one simply did as he was told and didn't speak unless instructed to.<p>

"Ah, if only all of those stupid shopkeepers were as obedient!" Roman sighed as the last of the Dust was loaded into the van. "We wouldn't have had to shoot anyone! But no, they _always_ try and run. It's like they don't realize guns still work at a distance!"

The driver didn't seem terribly amused. Grunts never had a good sense of humor, always 100% serious. Perhaps the White Fang would be different, though somehow Roman doubted it. He'd worked with Faunus before, and the only one who had even come close to being funny had cracked puns for a solid two hours. Those were also the worst two hours of Roman's life.

"Just drive," he growled, mood soured by the memory. The man obeyed, pulling a U-turn and practically flooring the pedal. Roman winced at the sudden acceleration.

He pulled out the radio from his pocket once again. "We clear?"

"Yes, sir," came the immediate reply. "No one in the area, and I still can't hear any sirens."

"Good, good, wonderful to hear." His momentary bitterness was immediately forgotten. "We'll pick you up in a minute, be ready."

"Affirmative."

Roman allowed a genuine grin to grace his features for a moment. A buzz from his pocket revealed even further good fortune in the form of a message on his scroll from an unknown number. He didn't have to think too hard to guess who it was from, though.

**_You continue to impress, Roman Torchwick. Come to the warehouse on West Avenue by the docks tomorrow at 22:30, and perhaps we can discuss _****_a possible joint business venture.  
><em>****_Cinder Fall._**

He considered replying, but thought better of it. If she wanted to play all cool and mysterious then he'd let her. Better than getting on her bad side, since he'd gone through all this trouble already.

* * *

><p>Roman let the grunts unload the truck. He had more important things to think about than whether or not they were handling the Dust properly. Which they undoubtedly were not, but even if they did cause a minor explosion he didn't want to be in the vicinity.<p>

"So-o-o, this is it!" Roman drawled to himself as he returned to his office. He sat in the chair and put his feet up on the desk, ignoring the papers that were undoubtedly getting crumpled.

_I feel like some pop idol about to sign a contract for some big record company or something. Why didn't I go the normal route to become world-famous again? _Roman laughed to himself at the very thought. _Oh, that's right, because everybody only loves famous people while they're famous. It's infamy that sticks around. _

"Well," he mumbled, taking his feet off the desk once more and straightening out the papers. "Things are finally getting interesting."

* * *

><p><em>Two chapters in two days, what is this?! Procrastination, that's what. <em>

_A _little_ heavier than the previous chapters, but don't worry, I'll be back to shenanigans next chapter. __No prompt inspired this one, just the headcanon that Torchwick does everything that he does not because he actually believes in Cinder's or the White Fang's causes, but because they're doing something big and he wants to be part of it. __I dunno, his behavior just makes me think that he's _trying_ to be memorable. So what if he is afraid of being forgotten or something existential like that? Idk, it's hard to explain, but I will continue to stubbornly believe it until his true motivations are fully explained. _

_I also headcanon that he talks to himself a lot. _


	4. Ruby & Me

Blake's ear twitched in subdued irritation, the only display of emotion she expressed as she glanced at row after row of theatre seats covered in popcorn and butter. Three out of every four cupholder had a half-empty drink resting in it, and the rest held empty candy boxes. No one would ever make her job easy, huh?

A muffled sob from near the front row caught her attention, and the Faunus glanced in the direction of the noise. A solitary figure sat with their face buried in their hands. They seemed to be doing their best to be quiet, but Blake's superior hearing caught every stifled sound. The voice was high and girlish, fitting the slender frame in the chair.

To avoid unnecessary interaction, Blake decided to start at the back row and work her way forward. Enough people had already come out of that particular movie bawling already, she was quite tired of dealing with blubbering children and adults alike.

Blake worked steadily and methodically, picking up the drinks and empty containers from the cupholders and tossing them into the trash can before sweeping up a plethora of sticky popcorn from the floor. Apparently _two_ separate moviegoers had managed to dump their large bowls onto the floor.

_Damn free refills_, the Faunus girl thought bitterly, frowning a bit as she accidentally stepped on a half-melted piece of chocolate. _If they made people pay for new containers, then maybe they'd be more careful._

* * *

><p>Despite taking her sweet time cleaning the rest of the theatre, Blake found herself hesitating at the far end of the dreaded row. The girl was still there, and… yes, she was still crying, though not as heavily as before. Blake could clearly make out sniffling and the occasional choked sob.<p>

She moved down the row slowly, quietly sweeping up the occasional piece of popcorn and retrieving a couple of stray sodas. It was too soon before Blake found herself standing next to the crying girl.

"…Hey. Are you going to be okay?"

The girl jumped in alarm, looking up at Blake with puffy red eyes. She sniffled again, then wiped her nose on the sleeve of her strikingly-red hoodie. Blake grimaced and dug around in her uniform slacks, fishing out a clean napkin and offering it to the other girl.

She accepted it gratefully and blew her nose several times before she could speak.

"Y-yeah, I'll be okay… I just… I didn't know. I didn't know the dog was going to die, that wasn't okay!"

Another sob, and Blake patted the girl awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Did you not read the book?" she asked, feeling a little sorry for her. Blake hadn't actually watched this movie, but she had read the novel long before and knew how it ended.

The snivelling girl shook her head.

"No, not this time. My sister and I were gonna see the movie together, and she never reads books before seeing the movie, and I wanted−" She hiccuped, then blew her nose again. "I wanted both of us to find out the story together."

"That didn't go very well," Blake observed. This seemed to amuse the girl.

"Haha, no, it didn't, huh?" She giggled and started to get up. Blake took her elbow and helped her stand. "Thanks."

"Of course. And I'm sorry to do this, but I _really_ need to finish cleaning up here…" Blake gestured towards the popcorn kernels that fell from the girl's lap when she stood. Was there something about popcorn that made it that difficult to eat, or was it just a human thing?

"Oh, what? Wow, where'd everybody go?" The short girl, now that Blake was closer she could tell she was a redheaded human, looked around in alarm at the barren theatre.

"They left. The credits ended about ten minutes ago."

"What?!" She turned her gaze (silver eyes, Blake noticed) back to the Faunus before her. A quick glance, and the redhead seemed to notice that Blake's uniform and the fact that she wasn't just another moviegoer. "Oh, Dust, I'm in the way, aren't I? Here, let me help."

Quick as a flash, the girl began bundling nearby trash into her arms. Blake attempted to protest, but her efforts were met by a stubborn "shhh, no, I'm helping." So Blake decided to just go with it.

* * *

><p>"You said you were going to see the movie with your sister," Blake commented as the girl (who had introduced herself as Ruby) dropped an armful of garbage into the can. She nodded brightly.<p>

"Yep, me and Yang were going to see it, but something came up at the last minute. So then I was going to come with my other friend Jaune, but _he_ was busy too, and I'd already bought my ticket online, so I didn't want it to go to waste. But wow, if I'd known it was going to end like _that_ I would've just gone back home!"

Blake chuckled as she dumped her dusting pan of spilled food into the trash can as well. "I like reading books first. Movies change things, but the overall story rarely is surprising."

"I like books too! Yang used to read to me a lot as a kid, but I think she liked the whole 'to me' part better than the 'reading' bit, 'cause she doesn't do it much anymore. And I like adventure stories, I just heard that this would be a good movie."

"Adventure stories, hmm?" Despite having known the other girl for only a couple of minutes, that tidbit of information didn't surprise Blake in the slightest.

"Yeah! Like knights and heroes, slaying the monsters and rescuing the princesses, that kind of thing!" Ruby brandished Blake's broom like a fencing sword, stabbing it at imaginary foes. The ebony-haired girl watched with amusement.

"I doubt you'll be slaying many monsters by fencing with a broadsword like that. Something that long and heavy is made for swinging, not stabbing."

"Ehehe, oh, right." Ruby switched her stance a bit, gripping the handle with both hands. Thankfully, instead of attempting to swing the broom like an actual sword, she returned it with a grin to where Blake had leaned it against one chair. She seemed to be in much better spirits than when Blake had first found her, and her eyes were far less red and swollen. Ruby's good mood was infecting Blake as well, and she found herself smiling a bit in return.

* * *

><p>"Soooo…" Ruby let the vowel draw out. It echoed a bit in the empty theatre, and Blake felt her ears swivel under her bow to catch the sound. She glanced up from where she was picking up an empty wrapper. Ruby was standing with her hands clasped behind her back, rocking slightly on her heels and looking a bit sad.<p>

"So?"

"So. This has been loads of fun, well, as fun as cleaning up a movie theatre can be… buuuut I promised Yang I'd be back by 9:30 and I'm already going to be a little late."

Blake frowned at that, leaning on her broom a bit. "You shouldn't have helped, then. I could have taken care of it myself."

"Oh, no, I wanted to! It's just, I really need to get going. But it was great meeting you, Blake! Kind of embarrassing, since, y'know, I was bawling my eyes out because of some dumb kid's movie, but…"

"Older people than you have left this theatre in the same shape," Blake informed her, hoping to sound comforting. "But it was nice to meet you as well, Ruby." Then, as an afterthought, "I'll see you around sometime."

Ruby brightened considerably. "Yeah! Maybe we can do something fun this time!"

As the two of them left the theatre room, Blake carrying her equiptment and Ruby babbling about all of the exciting things the two of them could do ("Oh man we _have_ to play laser tag. We'll bring Yang and Weiss, and maybe you can bring your friends, it'll be so much fun!"), Blake couldn't help but chuckle.

_So much for avoiding unnecessary interaction_, she thought to herself, though she couldn't bring herself to regret this unexpected turn of events. Instead, as Ruby waved goodbye in a charmingly overenthusiastic manner, she found herself looking forward to seeing the redhead again.

* * *

><p><em>You can probably guess which movie she went to see. Based on the prompt "I work in a movie theater and I'm cleaning up after the movie is over and you're the only person left because you're ugly crying with popcorn all over your lap". I never actually watched the movie, but I read an adaptation of the book (I think they only took out some sexual stuff, p sure it was basically the same). Still, I'd probably react more like Blake than Ruby if I had seen it, I've never really been the crying type. <em>

_Anyways, here's some Black Rose. Might do Monochrome next, I have an idea that I've been toying around with for a good while. _


	5. Assigned Seating

A shadow fell over Blake's desk, the light obstructed by a distinctly person-shaped silhouette. She didn't look up to see who it was, but gripped the pen in her fingers a little tighter in preparation for the inevitable interruption.

"Excuse me."

Letting out a light sigh that barely hinted at her frustration, Blake turned her head to see exactly who had stalked up to her in such a huff. Not that she didn't know already. Weiss Schnee stood with her arms crossed, a petulant scowl on her face. Also unsurprising.

"Can I help you?" Blake asked, praying silently that this could be resolved quickly and painlessly. Dealing with an angry Weiss Schnee tended to be neither, but one could hope.

"You're in my seat." Ah, _that_ was the problem.

"I wasn't aware there were assigned seats in this class," Blake replied loftily, turning back to the novel she had previously been reading. She could almost hear the other girl's blood pressure rising, but to her surprise the heiress kept her cool.

"While it's true that desks aren't technically assigned, I have been sitting at this particular desk for five weeks. It's obviously my place, and common courtesy dictates that you don't sit there unless I am absent. Which I am _clearly_ not."

"That much is obvious." Blake glanced around for a moment, mostly for show. Class had yet to begin, and most students were still taking their time filtering into the room from lunch. At least half of the desks in the room were empty still, probably since not many students were terribly eager to sit through an hour of AP European History again. AP That One Time Professor Port Backpacked Through Europe would probably be a more accurate name for the class.

"There are plenty of available seats, so I don't see why you're pestering me for this one in particular." With that, she again attempted to return to her novel, but Weiss was having none of it.

"Do I have to spell everything out for you?" There's that infamous temper. "You're sitting in one of the only two left-handed desks in this class, and I _happen_ to be left-handed!"

"Then pick the other left-handed desk, it's right there!" Blake gestured at the desk to her right, finding herself getting irritated as well. She glared up at Weiss's pale eyes. Sure, she hadn't realized that she was sitting in a left-handed desk, having been distracted by her displacement (since her own desk was currently being occupied and Blake was a creature of habit), but her bad mood made her quite unwilling to move once again, especially not simply to accommodate the wishes of some spoiled heiress.

Luckily, before things got even more hostile, a familiar smiling face entered the room. Ruby bounced cheerily over to the pair, and Blake felt the tension in the room begin to ease. Ruby was one of the few people Weiss deigned to speak to on a regular basis, and also a good friend of Blake's as well.

Well, if the princess was willing to lower her hackles, Blake could too.

"Hello, Ruby," she said, trying to sound pleasant despite her growing headache.

"Hey Blake, what're you doing sitting over here? Is something wrong?" Ruby cocked her head, having apparently noticed the lingering atmosphere between the bickering pair.

"No, nothing's wrong," Weiss interrupted hastily, setting her belongings in the chair behind the one to Blake's right, a right-handed desk. The dark-haired girl raised her eyebrow at her choice of seating, but remained quiet. "Blake and I were just having a discussion."

"Oh, okay!" Ruby's smile returned to her face as quickly as it had faded, and she took the seat to Blake's right. The girl began pulling out her notes, as class was about to begin. Ruby tapped her pencil in an arrhythmic pattern with her…

Blake suddenly wanted nothing more than to sink through the floor in embarrassment. _Of course Ruby is left-handed. I knew that already, it was one of the first things I noticed about her. How could I have forgotten?_

It was too late to switch desks, though; Professor Port was already making his way to the board, and everyone else was settled in their own places.

Suddenly, Blake realized something else. _Wait, is that why Weiss sat at the other desk? _

The dark-haired girl twisted around in her seat to look at the heiress. Their eyes met, and Blake nodded subtly towards where Ruby was still tapping away. Weiss, sharp as ever, caught her meaning instantly and turned away with a scowl. Blake smirked a bit when she saw a faint blush dusting the other girl's cheeks. _So the Ice Queen has a heart after all._

* * *

><p>Blake was already gathering her belongings before the lunch bell finished ringing, in an effort to hopefully get to class before her seat was taken once again. The girl had discovered a nice and quiet classroom that she could retreat to during her lunch break. The downside, it was quite a distance from her next class.<p>

Her hopes were dashed for the second day in a row when she entered the classroom only to find her previous desk seating a certain Russel Thrush. Blake held a healthy dislike him, like she did anyone who associated so closely with the school bully Cardin, so she retreated to the other side of the classroom once again.

Weiss and Ruby had yet to arrive, and as Blake placed her belongings in the right-handed desk that Weiss had taken the day before, she thought back to their argument. The rational part of her brain told her that intentionally provoking the Ice Queen would result in nothing but headaches. The irrational part desperately wanted to force the other girl out of her comfort zone.

Quickly, making sure that Weiss and Ruby still had yet to return from lunch, Blake switched to the left-handed desk once again. She wondered vaguely if she had some kind of repressed sadistic tendencies, but before she could pursue the thought further a certain redhead bounced into the room, momentarily followed by her white shadow.

* * *

><p>"Oh, you absolute <em>jackass<em>," Weiss hissed under her breath. She glared at the black-haired girl sitting in the desk (_Weiss's_ desk). She had been fully prepared to forgive the girl for the previous day's transgression, writing it off as simply being unaware of the situation. Weiss should have known better, though, especially after the haughty knowing look she gave when Ruby sat down.

This time, Ruby caught on to the situation almost immediately. To Weiss's dismay, the younger girl quickly placed her belongings at the right-handed desk.

"Here, Weiss, you can have the left-handed one," Ruby told her hurriedly. _Damn this girl's altruism! _

"No. You take it." Weiss tried to sound as commanding as she could. "I'm fairly competent with my right hand as well, it's no trouble."

This wasn't a lie, but in all honesty Weiss hated using her right hand at school. Her rather religious mother saw left-handedness as a sin, so Weiss had been forbidden from using it at home. As a result she had become ambidexterous, but Weiss still felt uncomfortable using her right hand when she didn't have to. No need to let Ruby know that, though, it would just worry her unnecessarily, and a worried Ruby was a clingy and irritating Ruby.

The redhead conceded the right-handed desk, and out of the corner of her eye Weiss saw the black-haired girl smirk.

"You look happy," Weiss muttered as she brushed the dark girl's arm a bit more roughly than strictly necessary.

"Not really, you're just cute." Weiss blinked in surprised confusion, then scowled as the girl continued with another faint smile. "When you're not being a huge bitch, at least."

"Blake!" Ruby gasped reprovingly, but she knew Weiss well enough to not get in the way just yet.

"When _I'm_ not being a huge bitch?" Oooh, that did it. "I'm not the one being a hassle to those around them for sheer amusement!"

"I thought you said you were ambidexterous." The girl raised one slender eyebrow, amber eyes glittering with humor. And maybe, just maybe, the barest hint of a challenge. Weiss wanted to argue her point, but doing so would go back on her claim of being fine with a right-handed desk. Instead, she switched directions.

"What about you? Yesterday you were using your right hand, so it would only make sense for you to use, I don't know, almost any other desk in the room!"

"I like this desk," the girl said simply. And, with a simple shrug, she turned back to the book in her lap.

It was going to be a _long_ semester.

* * *

><p><em>I can conceive of very few instances in which Weiss and Blake would make a good first impression on one another. They are destined to be absolute assholes to eachother in their first meeting. Sorry, I don't make the rules.<em>

_Originally for the prompt "I've been sitting in this seat all semester why did you decide to sit in it today", but accidentally turned into a mix between that and another prompt, "a vicious battle for the only left-handed desk in the room". This fic was kind of a mess to write all in all, I've never struggled so hard to make something work but I just _really_ wanted it to._

_I feel like I always post new chapters at absurd hours of the morning..._

_If anyone has a pairing they'd like to see (romantic or otherwise) just drop it in a review and I'll try my damned best to figure something out. I especially need inspiration for the next chapter, I'm not sure exactly what I want to do. Speaking of inspiration, prompts! I love prompts. Can you tell? They're just so great, the more specific and absurd the situation the better. _


	6. Five Nights at JNPR

_(note: if you've never played or heard of FNAF, you should probably watch a quick Let's Play video or something, there are plenty out there and frankly even with my ~incredible descriptive talent~ knowing what the game looks like would help a LOT)_

* * *

><p>"Run, Ren, run!" Nora sang, eyes and grin bright in the artificial light of the monitor.<p>

"Nora, I can't even stand up, much less run," Ren replied tersely, checking the cameras again. No one had moved, luckily. Nora ignored his response, instead continuing to sing words that rhymed with his name. _Where was all this bravery a few minutes ago? And why am _I_ the one playing_?

Ren pulled up the camera screen once again. Flipping quickly between camera views, he cursed when he realized one of the animatronics had changed position.

"Shit, where's the rabbit…" Anxiety curled in his stomach like a hard knot, and Nora's distracted jabbering wasn't helping him focus any. He flipped through the cameras rapidly, squinting to try and spot the elusive character.

"Be careful about your power!" his partner chimed. Ren glanced down. 52%, and it was only 2 pm. But he still had no idea where the damned rabbit− oh, no, there she was. Ren sighed with relief, then flipped back to check that the other two animatronics hadn't moved. Luckily, they remained where they were.

Beside him, Nora giggled again, tightening her grip around his arm. "You're so nervous!"

"That's kind of the point of the game, isn't it?" Ren felt a little bad for being so short with her, but something about the game had him on edge. Probably the fact that he couldn't actually move his character whatsoever except to look around. With most of Nora's horror games, he could at least _try_ to run away, or even fight, but this game made him feel trapped and helpless.

"Where did you even find this game, Nora?"

"Ruby and Jaune played it a few days ago," she hummed, resting her chin on his shoulder. She had long since abandoned her own chair, choosing instead to drape herself over the back of Ren's. "They said it was really good! Well, Ruby did. Apparently Jaune started crying and had to quit."

That, sadly, didn't surprise Ren in the least. Their intrepid leader was never one for horror games, despite his girlfriend's affinity for them. Besides, the dark-haired Hunter could certainly understand why this particular game would be stressful.

Ren pulled up the cameras once again, only for the screens to show nothing but snow.

"Look out, they're on the move!" If anything, Nora sounded delighted by this turn of events, while Ren felt quite the opposite.

He lowered the camera screens and quickly closed both doors, just as a gentle music began to chime from the computer speakers, barely heard over the fan in the character's office.

"That… doesn't sound good…" Ren checked the cameras again. They were operational, but he jumped when he flipped to the camera directly outside of the office door only to be face-to-face with a grinning animatronic bird.

Nora laughed again.

"_Heeeeeeey~_" she mocked, trying to mimic the character's expression. "She looks really funny! Hey, are those teeth in the back of her throat? She already has teeth, and she's a bird, why does she need teeth? Didn't the guy on the phone−"

"_Nora_," Ren warned, hoping to keep her from going off on a tangent right in his ear. Most of the time he'd simply let her, but Ren needed to focus. Especially now that the cameras had gone temporarily dark again, and two of the animatronics were now apparently on the move.

"Oh, sorry, Ren. You do your thing." She sounded genuinely apologetic, so Ren simply nodded and returned his focus to the screen before him.

* * *

><p>When Nora had first booted up the game, she scoffed at how simple the mechanics were.<p>

"Whaaaaat, no weapons, no nothing? I wanted to shoot stuff! And it's at a kid's pizza place, that's not scary at all!" Nora sagged dramatically in the chair, heaving a grand sigh at the colossal disappointment she already deemed the game to be.

Ren, on the other hand, was trying to listen to the man on the phone. "What was that about damage or death?"

Nora waved her hand dismissively. "It'll be fine, this game looks too cute to be scary!"

_This game _definitely_ doesn't look cute_, Ren thought skeptically, but didn't question his friend's tastes aloud. Instead, he simply watched quietly from his chair as Nora's character closed the doors on their left and right.

"There, problem solved! Nobody's stuffing _me_ into a fursuit!"

Ren watched the little "power left" percentage tick steadily down. "Nora…"

"Not that there's anything wrong with fursuits, of course. I wonder if faunus ever wear fursuits? Would they wear a fursuit of the same animal, or maybe they'd wear a different one!" As she jabbered, flicking rapidly between the eleven cameras so quickly that Ren was sure she couldn't see anything, he watched as her power continued to tick down.

"Can you imagine? Running into somebody in a cat fursuit, but then they take their headpiece off and they've got feathers or horns or something? That would really throw me off, I think. Ooh, look, you can turn on the lights outside the doorway!"

Nora jammed the lights a few times, letting them flicker on and off. Ren groaned as the pointless action wasted even more electricity.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long at all for Nora to run out of power. She jumped in surprise as the lights suddenly went dark and the doors flew open. Even the office fan, a calming buzz that Ren had already grown accustomed to, was silenced. The only sound was a dull and fading roar, likely the dying generator. And then… a music box?

Nora gasped and pressed back into her chair when she saw the glowing blue eyes staring at her from the pitch-black doorway. Ren stared back, his own eyes wide in anticipation and fear.

And they waited.

And waited.

The animatronic bear stared at them through the doorway, its distorted music box chiming in the silence as its eyes flickered. Then, the screen went dark.

"… Was that it? A bit anticli−"

Nora's words were cut off with a metallic shriek as the bear leapt at them, shaking the camera roughly as it screamed. Nora fell backwards out of her chair with a shriek of her own, and Ren's chair tipped as he attempted in vain to grab his partner and pull her away from the danger.

As quickly as it happened, the scene ended. The game's screen faded to snow and static once again, then returned them to the main screen.

The pair simply sat on the floor for a minute in quiet contemplation, Nora wrapping her arms around Ren's torso tightly and burying her face in his shoulder. There was a hesitant knock on the door, and when neither responded a curious Blake poked her head into their room.

"Are… you two okay?" she asked. Apparently the screams of abject terror had disturbed the neighboring team. Who would've guessed.

"…Yeah," Ren replied, collecting himself once again. "We're fine."

Blake glanced at their computer monitor and nodded in understanding. "I know that game. It's… more startling than it looks."

"So we've learned." Ren looked down at his partner, who had yet to detach herself. She wasn't crying or anything, he knew that much. It would take a lot more than a simple jumpscare to bring a Valkyrie to tears, but startled was a good word to describe her at the moment.

Blake took the ensuing silence as her cue to leave, and closed the door silently behind her.

After a minute, Nora removed her arms from Ren and got to her feet. She was grinning again.

"Well, Ren, I think it's your turn to play now!" the girl crowed.

* * *

><p>Ren flicked quickly between screens, leaning in close to the monitor to see.<p>

"Bear, rabbit, but where's the bird…" he hissed. Nora's grip on his shoulder was rather painful at this point, but he didn't care.

"There, she's in there!"

"Yes, got her. Wait, _shit_, Pirate's Cove!"

"Oh no…"

"Hey, Team JNPR!"

Both Ren and Nora screamed when Jaune flicked on the lights. Their team leader fell back through the open doorway in panic, and Nora was out of her chair and halfway down the hall before realizing that there was no actual danger.

When the two returned to their room, they found Ren frozen with a death grip on the armrests of his chair, staring blankly at the static screen.

"…Nora?"

"Yes, Ren?"

"I don't think I want to play this game anymore."

* * *

><p><em>This has been done more times than I can count, but frankly I don't even care. I honestly did want them to play a game other than Five Nights at Freddy's, since it's just been done a lot, <em>_but I've never been able to get Amnesia TDD or MFP to run on my laptop (the pains of not having a desktop *le sign) and I wanted to write a game that I've actually properly played before. Most of the scary games I've played are either really short and not scary enough or are RPGmaker, which are almost exclusively story-driven and would've been tedious to write. So it was either FNAF or Vanish, and I figured I might as well go with the game that people are more familiar with._

_Anyways, from the prompt "character 1 enlists the help of character 2 as emotional support while playing a horror game". It was a bit of a toss-up between Ruby/Jaune or Renora bros, and I ended up picking the latter bc 50% Team JNPR just isn't as good as **100% TEAM JNPR**. I really wanted to write some Team JNPR, can you tell?_

_Pairing suggestions and/or prompts are highly encouraged, the more unexpected the better! _


	7. Liveblogging

_Prompt: "we're both semi-famous on this social media website and never knew about each other until our fans started shipping us together so we decided to start talking" AU_

_Pairing: Enabler (Yang/Ruby), not too explicit _

* * *

><p>"Heeeey, everybody, Yang-a-rang Xiao Long here!" She grinned at the video camera, lining it up to make sure the angle was just right to capture the scene she had prepared. "I know you guys have missed me <em>terribly<em>, it's been, what, a whole week since I put up my last video? Sorry, it's just that nothing's been happening! I've been so bored I even went to class, if you can believe it!"

A gentle cough from behind her reminded Yang of her purpose. "Oh, right. Sorry, Blake. You guys remember my roommate Blake, right?"

She stepped aside and gestured grandly at the dark-haired girl, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable about being put in the spotlight so suddenly. Seeing this, Yang quickly diverted the attention back to herself.

"Anyways, Blakey here got ahold of some weird pepper, apparently it's spicy or something. So she dared me to eat it!"

"No, I told you that I wasn't going to eat it, then you asked if you could eat it later. I told you that was probably a bad idea, then you said 'fire cannot kill a dragon' and grabbed your camera."

Blake's monotone as she retold the actual story made Yang giggle. "Ahaha, right, something like that. Anyways, all that matters is that I have been challenged!"

* * *

><p>Only two hours after the video was posted, it was already well past 5,000 views on their college's blog site.<p>

"Apparently people really like seeing you crying on-camera," Blake commented idly, watching the video on her own laptop. Yang was sprawled on her bed, still feeling the effects of her earlier escapade.

"I did not cry," she pouted, looking away pointedly.

"I definitely see some tears amidst the general panicking and screaming."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! That thing was terrible, barely worth it. Shit, I still feel like I just tongued Satan's asshole or something. Pass me another bottle of water?" Yang rolled back over and gave Blake the most pathetic look she could muster.

Her roommate winced at the mental image before reaching down under her bed to pull out Yang's fourth bottle of the afternoon. She tossed it to Yang, who immediately cracked the bottle open and chugged it.

"Oh look, someone's mentioned that Rose7 again." Blake continued to scroll through the comments, looking for anything particularly interesting. Most of the comments were "LOL" or something to a similar effect, with the occasional video suggestion that she ignored. Yang never took suggestions, wanting to keep her videos spontaneous and "genuine". But more than a couple of comments caught Blake's eye. "Looks like they _really_ want you to do a collab video with her."

"Hmm?" Yang wandered over, flopping onto Blake's bed. The dark girl frowned as the bed bounced, but turned the screen towards the blonde.

"See? There's one comment chain here, asking you to do a collaboration. I already saw a couple more earlier. She seems popular."

Yang hummed again, reading the string of comments. Indeed, several users were asking her to do a video with a certain "Rose7". Yang had definitely seen the name around, but she'd never actually bothered to see who they were or what their videos were about.

Sounds like it was research time.

* * *

><p>"Hello! Um, my name is Ruby Rose." The nervous girl sitting in front of the camera looked no older than a freshman. Hell, she could probably pass for a freshman in high school rather than college.<p>

"Oh my god she's _so cute_, Blake!"

"Shh!"

"Right, sorry."

"−first video on here! I've always kind of had a hobby of making these kinds of video blogs, but I've never actually posted any online before… I think it'll be fun, though!"

Yang and Blake listened as the girl continued to talk. There wasn't much of a point to the video that the blonde could discern, but she still found herself listening intently. The freshman spoke animatedly, gesturing and waving her hands for emphasis and grinning as she talked inanely about moving in, meeting her new roommate, and preparing for her first day of classes. It was so pointless, the video should have been mind-numbingly boring. But something about the way the little brunette in the red jacket spoke made Yang hang onto every word. Beside her, Blake was leaning forwards just a touch, amber eyes showing a hint of interest. Which, for Yang's normally impassive roommate, was a high compliment indeed.

"Oh, jeez, I think seven minutes is long enough for my first video!" the girl exclaimed suddenly, glancing at the cell phone resting on her knee. "I promised my roommate I'd be ready to go to the bookstore by 3 anyways, and I think she'll probably leave without me if I'm not. So, um, I guess I'll see you all later! Or you'll see me, really."

With that, the video ended. Yang and Blake both leaned back once more.

"…Okay, wow, she is _adorable_. When was that video posted?"

Blake scrolled down the page a bit, searching for a date. "The beginning of last semester. Looks like she's still a freshman."

Yang frowned, feeling disappointed for some reason. Did she want the girl to be older? Yang herself was only a sophomore, though she usually found herself going after people several years older than she. There was something about the slight sense of danger that intrigued Yang. Though her most recent (and catastrophic) relationship failure had put a bit of a damper on the girl's more adventurous tastes.

Blake seemed to notice Yang retreating into her thoughts and took the opportunity to continue scrolling through the freshman's video page.

"Let's watch a few more," the dark girl prodded gently, sliding the laptop to rest on Yang's knee.

* * *

><p>Yang, readying herself for takeoff, glanced up at Jaune. "You drop that camera and I will end you," she warned. He visibly swallowed.<p>

"Yeah, sure, of course!" The boy readied the video camera.

"It's still on?" she checked. Jaune was a good friend of hers, but… not the most reliable, and Yang definitely wanted this little stunt to be remembered.

"It's recording, it's recording!" the blond boy reassured. "Just go!"

Yang beamed a grin at him, her excitement coming back. She sat cross-legged in the lid of a trash can at the top of an ice-covered sidewalk. Apparently no one at Beacon owned a proper sled, but Yang had made do with what she had available.

"Y'all ready for this?" she laughed. Behind her, Blake gave a heavy sigh. Pyrrha was also watching, significantly more nervous. She had a good sense of humor, but Yang's more dangerous stunts always got her anxious. This one wasn't _particularly_ dangerous, but the potential for injury was there, and that was enough.

Not waiting for a proper reply, Yang gave herself a push forward. She slid over the ice a few inches, but it was enough to begin tipping herself forward.

* * *

><p>Ruby barely registered the shouts from above her as she stepped across the partially-frozen sidewalk. All she heard was a single, clear voice.<p>

"Oh, _shit_!"

With that, the brunette's feet were suddenly not underneath her anymore. In fact, it felt like the entire world was flipped on its head. Or maybe it was her that was upside-down.

And then Ruby's head hit the pavement, and her vision exploded into stars and pain. She rolled onto her side and brought her hands up to clutch her aching skull.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh my _god_ are you okay?!" The loud voice in her ears weren't making things any better.

"Owww ow ow owow…" Ruby groaned, sitting up on one elbow and cradling her head with her free hand. "What… what just happened?"

She heard a heavy sigh of relief from beside her.

"Umm… I kind of ran you over? Sorry about that! Are you alright?"

Ruby squinted up at her… rescuer? Assailant? "Yeah, I think so. Just hit my head a little, I've had worse."

Ruby suddenly locked gazes with the most intriguing shade of lavender she had ever seen. The girl's eyebrows were knitted together with concern, which sent a pang of sorrow through Ruby for causing, as she held the freshman's stare for a few moments longer.

"Oh jeez, you're Ruby Rose, aren't you? Wow, what a first impression…" The girl fell back with another sigh. "Sorry again about that, it's kind of deserted out here usually and we didn't see you until it was too late."

The girl got to her feet and brushed her palms off on her sweatpants before offering a hand to Ruby. She accepted, and the blonde pulled her to her feet with surprising strength. The girl was still talking, but all Ruby could really focus on was how warm her hand was in the cold winter air and how much her head _fucking hurt_.

* * *

><p>"Sorry again for earlier," the blonde stammered for what must have been the tenth time, stuffing another mouthful of pancakes into her mouth and swallowing quickly. "I thought I'd checked the area well enough to make sure no one was around, but I messed up."<p>

As an apology for plowing the poor freshman over during one of her stunts, Yang had invited the entire group back to her and her roommate's place for breakfast-for-dinner. Jaune and Pyrrha had declined, and Yang's roommate was currently curled in a chair on the other side of the room, her half-empty plate forgotten as she became absorbed in the novel she was reading. So Ruby and Yang were more or less alone at the small kitchen table, chewing on surprisingly good pancakes. Ruby wouldn't have pegged the busty blonde as a chef at first glance, but Yang continued to defy expectations.

"My hobby is documenting my life with this baby here!" she proclaimed, showing off her video camera to the enraptured brunette. "Whenever I get the feeling something interesting's about to happen, I pull her out and hit record. Most of the time I don't get anything good, but sometimes I manage to capture something fun."

Ruby nodded. "I know what you mean! I make videos too! Well, mine are more like a video blog than actual videos of what happened, but I like talking about my day and stuff. Nothing interesting ever really happens to me, but it's still fun."

"I'm sure today will make an interesting video," Blake piped up from her corner. "Yang apparently has a way of sweeping girls off of their feet."

Yang laughed again, not sounding embarrassed at all. "Was that a joke I heard? I'm so proud of you, Blake!"

Ruby hadn't felt so at ease since before she left for college five months ago. Between Yang and Blake's playful banter and the blonde's genuine enthusiasm, Ruby felt herself growing more and more comfortable in their cozy apartment. Yang cooked some more pancakes, Ruby ate most of them, and the three simply chatted the evening away.

Simply put, Ruby had missed this. She and her roommate Weiss were fairly close, yes, but the other girl wasn't really the type for small talk or homemade meals. Something about the atmosphere in Yang's apartment made her feel warm and happy. Or maybe it was the blonde herself, and those curious lavender eyes. Ruby couldn't bring herself to care just yet.

Finally, Ruby realized that she actually had homework to complete and that she would have to return to her own dorm.

"It was really great to meet you, Yang!" She shook the blonde's hand with gusto, hoping to convey even a fraction of her gratitude.

"Nice to meet you too, Ruby!" the blonde replied, flashing a megawatt grin as she squeezed Ruby's hand fiercely in return. "If you don't hate me too much for accidentally almost killing you, definitely stop by again!"

"Indeed, it was nice having someone else around," Blake chimed in.

Ruby waved goodbye to the pair, the pain in her head long forgotten and a grin of her own on her face. She _definitely_ knew what her next video would be about.

* * *

><p><em>This one was pretty hard for me to get out. Enabler is weird for me to write for a variety of reasons (see: incest squicks me out so I couldn't read much reference material), and I just... didn't know where I wanted it to go. I rewrote most of it no fewer than three times, and even now I'm not really satisfied. I'll probably go back some time and fix it up, trim it and add detail where it's lacking, stuff like that. But I wanted to get <em>something_ written. It was the least I could do today. _

_Rest in peace, Monty Oum. You were a fucking inspiration to so many people, and the world's a lesser place without you. But we'll keep moving forward._


	8. House of Pain

_Prompt: "actor at a haunted house/person who punches the actor in the face" AU_

_Pairing: Black Sun (Blake/Sun)_

* * *

><p>The earpiece crackled to life once again, feeding yet another status report.<p>

"Last batch'a the night comin' in," the dog Faunus at the door drawled to the rest of the crew. "Didn't see any horns or tails on three of 'em, but one smelled'a Faunus. Watch y'rselves though, looks like they're a team a' Huntresses, and you know how _their_ reflexes are."

Sun rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation. Neptune claimed that he enjoyed this job a bit too much, and maybe he was right, but there was something about making someone leap a full foot in the air at his touch was just _hilarious_.

The blood-colored dye was beginning to wear off of his palms, he noted, but decided not to bother with last-minute retouches. After all, the faunus at the door (Sun had long since forgotten his name) said this was the last group for that evening, and it would be hard enough getting the rest of the Halloween paint off of his skin as it was.

"Ugh, not Huntresses," the crow Faunus across the room groaned, voice muffled slightly by the ivory-white bird mask. "My stomach still hurts from where that one slugged me earlier."

"Should've moved faster, then!" Sun replied, grinning at the memory. The other Faunus definitely had that one coming. "I mean, we're sort of trained to respond like that to threats."

"Then why the hell would you go into a haunted house? It's our _job_ to scare the shit out of you!" The crow Faunus, Bailey, crossed their arms in mild irritation.

The monkey Faunus shrugged. "Well, I guess it means we've done a good job. Besides, it's not like you can't handle it, or you wouldn't be here."

Bailey almost retorted, but a faraway cry of abject terror caused them both to perk up.

"That was quick," Sun commented, hopping down from the table on which he had been perched. Usually the pair had at least five minutes to prepare after a group entered the house before it was their turn, but it hadn't even been two. _Somebody's moving rather quickly_, he thought with amusement as he moved into position.

* * *

><p>The haunted house wasn't too unusual at first glance. It was big, dark, and decorated with gaudy spiderwebs and fake blood. Still, one thing made it a little different from most: the entire place was staffed entirely by Faunus, most of whom were Hunters or Hunters-in-training. Their superior night vision and advanced training and abilities gave the crew a huge range of possible tricks to pull.<p>

Sun and Bailey's job was fairly simple. Bailey was the obvious attraction, his plague doctor garb and incredibly quick reflexes good for a simple jumpscare, as Sun (covered in fake scabs and rather disgusting-looking cysts) hung upside-down from a series of ropes suspended from the ceiling and grabbed at passerbys who wandered/fled too close.

Simple, yet infinitely amusing.

This time, though, neither Faunus was prepared when the first of the group entered the room. Though "entered" wasn't exactly the right word for the girl's actions. "Exploded through", or perhaps "blew right by" would be more accurate. The Huntress was nothing but a red-and-black blur of pure panic.

Sun, normally partially blocking the doorway, barely avoided getting run into as the girl barrelled past and into the next room.

"Holy shit," Bailey mumbled, gazing after her in

"Was that…?" _Oh yes, that was definitely Ruby. That must mean…_

A chill began to creep through the air, a unique yet familiar sensation caused by a certain snowy-haired heiress. Yep, definitely Team RWBY. And, more importantly, the B of the team. There was no way Sun was letting his girlfriend get through the haunted house without a little something special.

"Keep the door covered," he commanded, dropping quickly to the ground. Bailey seemed to know something was up, so he simply nodded and returned to his post.

Sun silently thanked the haunted house's director for making the room directly after theirs empty. He ducked inside and grabbed a black prop blanket. Blake's night vision would mean that normally she'd recognize him instantly, and that was just no fun. But if he managed to stay out of sight until she passed…

Sun had barely managed to hoist himself back up into the ropes and cover himself in the blanket before Bailey gave a short tap with his prop cane. That was their agreed signal to get ready, and moments later familiar laughter drifted through the opposite doorway. Apparently Blake's partner was having the time of her life. The Schnee girl was another story, judging by her irritable scolding.

"−can't believe she just took off like that!" the short girl was complaining.

"Ruby never has been good with real-live horror," a soft voice replied, one that Sun knew by heart. He hoped beyond hope that she didn't recognize him.

"But she plays those stupid games all the time! Besides, she's our team leader, and she just abandoned us!" Wait, did she just stomp her foot? Sun bit his lip to hold back a chuckle, forcing himself to hang limply. He was going for a just-a-corpse-for-show look, and corpses didn't giggle.

Sun couldn't see the doorway with a blanket draped over his face and all, but he listened as the team's footsteps grew ever closer. Yang especially was quite easy to track. It's not like one hundred and sixty pounds of muscle was going to be too light on its feet, after all.

He heard Weiss shriek, and then Yang burst out laughing once again. Bailey must've made his move.

"Come on!" the Schnee heiress huffed. "Let's just get out of here!"

"Ahahaha, after you, Princess!" The brawler was having trouble forcing her giggles down, which only humiliated Weiss further.

A ghost of white approached Sun, then paused. He held his breath.

"…Is that a prop?" Weiss sounded wary. Oh no.

"Not sure," Yang replied. "Blake?"

That was it. He was caught. There was no way Blake wouldn't be able to smell him, or at least the stink of face paint and blood that hung around all of the actors. There was no way she'd let him ever forget trying to scare them and _getting caught at it_.

"I don't think so."

_Wait, what?_

"You should be safe going by."

_Oh_.

_Blake, you _sly_ cat._

Sun had momentarily forgotten that Blake's mischievous streak, though well-hidden under layers of self-control and cool sarcasm, was just as big as his own. She _wanted_ him to scare Weiss.

It was a shame he would have to disappoint, but Sun had an even better idea.

The Schnee heiress, at the prompting of her team, crept forward slowly and near-silently. The soft click of her heels was the only thing that allowed him to track the girl's movements in his blindness as she slipped underneath him and through the doorway.

After she passed, he heard Weiss let out a sigh of relief.

"See?" Blake asked, and Sun thought he caught a faint undercurrent of disappointment. Yang, reassured by Weiss's safe passage, strode by brusquely.

"Yeah, no problem!" the blonde cheered. "I think we're almost out, anyways, and you'll be able to shout Ruby's ears off in a minute!"

Sun heard a noise of uncertainty from the next room. Where was Blake? Had she already passed without his notice?

"I thought you'd scare her," murmured a voice from directly below, and it took all of Sun's self-control not to flinch. No fair, it was his job to scare her, not the other way around!

He considered replying, but with a swish of clothing Blake followed the rest of her team.

Sun dropped silently to the ground. Just as he had hoped, none of the three were looking back, gazes all fixed forwards as they waited for the next horror to pop out.

He stepped forwards silently. It had taken months of practice and more humiliating failures than he could count, but the monkey Faunus had finally learned the art of moving quietly enough to evade even his girlfriend's keen ears. And now the skill was finally going to be put to good use.

However, the last thing Sun expected to happen when he reached out and grabbed Blake's shoulder was for her to spin on her heel and pound her fist directly into his eye.

"OH MY GOD."

"Oh _shit_, Blake!"

"Sun?! Fuck, are you okay?!"

* * *

><p>Sun held an ice pack to his aching eye as Blake continued to babble apologies. Yang was <em>still<em> choking back her laughter behind him, joined by a certain cheeky crow Faunus. Weiss had already gone off some time ago, likely to tear her team leader a new one for ditching them.

"It's _fine_, Blake," he told the cat Faunus once more, but his words were just as ineffective as the last several times.

"But I shouldn't have hit you," she told him severely, amber eyes wide and serious. The last time Sun had seen her this upset, the girl had been telling him about her past affiliation with the White Fang. Why was she so anxious?

"I broke protocol, so really it was my fault," Sun replied. "Really, I'm okay! I didn't know you had such a mean left hook, is all!" He laughed, hoping to ease the other Faunus's worries.

Yang rested her hand on Blake's shoulder with a grin. "I've been training with her, showing off some basic boxing techniques. Didn't think she'd be using them on_ you_ of all people!"

Instead of looking amused like Sun had hoped, Blake averted her eyes with guilt. He felt a pang in his chest at the sight of the girl looking so dejected. It made her look… well, pitiful, and that was never a word he wanted to describe his girlfriend with, and one that she would also hate being described as.

Sun touched her chin lightly with his tail, gently turning her to face him. Blake followed his touch, and their eyes met.

"_Blake_. Why are you so upset by this? You even told me you didn't realize it was me under the blanket, so there's absolutely no reason for me to be upset with you."

"Sun, _I punched you in the face_." She sighed, trying to turn away again, but Sun dipped his head forward to maintain eye contact.

"So? Do you have _any_ idea how many times Neptune has punched me in the face?" Sun removed the ice pack from his face with a wince. From the slightly relieved look on Blake's face, the swelling must have gone down some, though he knew he'd have a nice black eye. His girlfriend hit _hard_ when she wanted to.

"I just…" Another sigh. "I don't know if I would be so forgiving, and I don't feel like I deserve to be let off so easily."

Yang, sensing the mood of the conversation turning more intimate, took the opportunity to make a tactful retreat, and Bailey followed suit a moment later.

Sun thought for a moment, breaking their eye contact and staring thoughtfully at the ice pack cupped in his hands.

"So, if I punish you for hitting me, you'll feel better?"

He got a hard glare in return, and quickly amended his phrasing. "Not like, anything weird! But, you know, a favor or something?"

"It wouldn't make me feel any worse."

Sun grinned. "Okay! Kiss it and make it better!"

Another Look™. But, instead of dismissing his suggestion, Blake leaned forward a touch.

"Close your eyes."

The monkey Faunus eagerly obliged, and his smile broadened even further when he felt the girl's lips meet his eyebrow tenderly.

"Okay now?" he asked as his girlfriend pulled away.

"It's a start," she admitted, looking a bit happier.

* * *

><p><em>I don't get Sun at all, and I've never been to a haunted house. Why, then, did I write this? Because when I read that prompt all I could think of was Blake absolutely <em>decking_ monkey boy. I write for my own selfish pleasure, so it just had to happen. _

_Oh, and the crow Faunus from Cookie and a Bagel gets a name! The labrador Faunus has a name too, but I didn't think Sun would bother to learn it. They're just reusable background characters in these anyways, details will be revealed when they are relevant. Both are currently faceless and one has no name. I am so good at OCs. _


	9. Fluorescent Adolescents

_Prompt: laser tag au (which then became paintball AU)_

_Pairing(s): minor Ruby/Blake (Black Rose), minor Yang/Weiss (Freezerburn)_

_cont. of Ch 4: Ruby & Me_

* * *

><p>"Do you see them?" Ruby whispered. The masked figure to her left shook her head sharply.<p>

"No, but I think one of them is up−"

"Right!" Yang barked from behind them. "Two moving up right!"

Ruby cursed under her breath, raising her rifle and scanning the area to their right for movement. A huge stack of tires blocked most of her view, and there was also cover in the form of large slatted wooden crates. If their opponents were intelligent, which they (mostly) were, they'd likely stick to the tire stacks.

Across the field, she could faintly hear the enemy leader barking out orders.

"They're trying to draw our attention!" Ruby called to her own team. "Yang, Weiss, you two keep your eyes on the right side! Sun, you cover the middle! Blake, you're with me!"

"Yessir!" the monkey Faunus replied, peering between the slats of the crate he was using as cover. He wasn't the most accurate, but Sun was a natural at suppressive fire. She heard nothing from Yang or Weiss, but she trusted them to know what to do.

After checking again to make sure no one had poked their heads (or rifles) out, Ruby nudged Blake with her foot.

"C'mon, this way," she instructed before breaking into a half-crouched sprint to another stack of tires a short ways away. Moving like that was awkward, and the girl's back always hurt like hell the next morning, but it definitely minimized target space.

Blake momentarily followed suit, but a few spitting noises and rustling leaves behind the girl told them that she'd been spotted. Luckily, none of the shots landed, but it certainly made Blake pick up her pace a bit.

The taller girl settled down beside Ruby, her back leaning against the tire stack as she caught her breath. For a moment Ruby wondered if this was all too much for her, maybe this was a bad idea, maybe she wasn't enjoying herself, maybe…

Blake caught her eye even through both of their masks, and Ruby's fears were suddenly put to ease as quickly as they had arrived. Amber eyes glittered with excitement, visible even through both masks. The younger girl couldn't help but grin back at the sight, but quickly sobered when she heard a shout from across the field.

"Got 'im!" Yang roared in triumph, just as a wail echoed through the clearing. Ruby called her congratulations as she raised her own rifle to peek around the edge of the tire stack. The words died in her throat, however, as she saw a figure in a dark bronze coat and black mask staring right at her from behind a crate, their own rifle poised.

"Shit!" Ruby cried, as her world exploded in white.

* * *

><p>"There, that should do it." Ren handed Ruby back her mask, having cleaned it of the white paint. He wasn't in much better shape himself, his right arm and torso littered with fluorescent orange splotches. Ruby giggled once again at the sight.<p>

"Yang really got you good, huh?"

Ren shrugged. "I wouldn't mind having her on _my_ team one of these matches."

"What? No way, I'm keeping her!"

There was another shout, and a disgruntled Jaune soon limped away from the field to join them.

"You could give us Blake instead," Ren offered as he stood to greet their friend. "She seems like quite the shot."

"You can say that again!" Jaune moaned, giving Ren a fistbump before flopping onto the bench beside Ruby. "She definitely has the whole 'double-tap' thing down, and she fights dirty!"

Ruby looked the blond over, grinning when she saw his left shoe covered in orange paint. "I dunno, looks pretty fair to me!"

"_Scheiße_! I'm out, I'm out!" came a shrill voice from the clearing. That would be Weiss, meaning the odds were equal once more.

From where she sat, Ruby could see most of what was going on. Yang still held the left side, fending off both Nora and Blake's other friend (_his name has something to do with the sea, right?_). Sun kept to the middle, occasionally letting off a few rounds in either direction to give the opposing team a little spook. Blake…

In Ruby's absence, Blake had apparently taken it upon herself to engage her teammate's foe, and seemed to be _winning_. Pyrrha was pinned behind a crate, and Blake let off a few rounds every time the redhead so much as flinched.

"She's going to run out of paintballs at this rate," Ren mused. Ruby hated to admit it, seeing how well Blake was doing, but he was right. It took everything Ruby had in her to keep from shouting advice to her new friend, but it was a common courtesy among the group to keep quiet about the game until it was over.

* * *

><p>By the time Weiss finally wandered over, wiping white paint from the barrel of her gun ("I didn't even get properly hit, that was a cheap shot at best!"), the match was almost over. Yang managed to take Nora out, but she and Neptune traded hits almost immediately, and Pyrrha got a brilliant shot on Sun that pegged him right in the ribcage from between the slats of the crate. He'd definitely feel <em>that<em> one in the morning.

"Who do you think will win?" the monkey Faunus asked, rubbing his tender rib with one hand as he rested his rifle on the table.

"My money's on Pyrrha," Yang admitted. Ruby shot her sister a dirty look, mouthing the word _traitor_. "Whaaat? Pyrrha's good! And she's got experience."

"But Blake's got her pinned," Weiss pointed out, rubbing her hands together to ward off the winter chill. "I don't think she's going anywhere."

"Me and Ren are with Pyrrha!" Nora declared, standing on the bench as she dumped a fresh load of paintballs into the chamber of the gun. "Team loyalty! Right, Ren?"

Ruby felt herself begin to tune out the others, instead watching Blake intently. The gun was clearly unfamiliar in her hands, and her right elbow stuck out a little too far as she held it up. Her stance was too wide, back foot digging into the dirt at an odd angle that couldn't be doing much for the girl's stability. Most of Blake's body was obscured by bulky clothing, per Ruby's insistence. They were playing paintball, after all, and in the middle of winter one could usually afford to sacrifice a bit of mobility for protection against pain and cold.

But despite the other girl's clear naïveté at the sport, something about her was simply mesmerizing.

Ruby could see Blake's breath rising as a fine mist through the holes in her mask, and her taut posture hinted at the girl's surely intense concentration.

Still, there was only so far determination could take her, and Blake's inability to ration her paintballs ended up being her downfall. It only took a few seconds after she ran out for Pyrrha to take advantage of the situation, though the other girl took her victory with grace and simply gave Blake a shot in the stomach, where thick padding would protect her from most of the sting.

* * *

><p>Four exhilarating deathmatches and more hits than Ruby could count later, she found herself waving goodbye to most of her friends. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren all piled together in the back of Jaune's old van, and Neptune (<em>that was his name!<em>) offered to give Sun and Blake a lift. Ruby had been quick to offer Blake a ride as well, which she surprisingly accepted instead.

Now the two of them were stripping themselves of their gear, Yang and Weiss a ways away scuffling with leftover paintballs.

"So, uh." Ruby found herself at a loss for words. She had been doing that around Blake a lot lately. When the two had first met, Ruby clearly recalled that she had been unable to shut up, but now that the two were slightly more alone…

Blake looked at Ruby blankly. No, not blankly, Blake's looks were never entirely empty. The emotion was just hard to find sometimes. "I had a lot of fun today, if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh! Good! Good, that's, that's really good! I was kind of worried earlier, 'cause I mean, I didn't know if you'd want to come, and I didn't want you to feel pressured or anything, especially since paintball is really different from laser tag and I know you've played that before. But I'm really glad you and Neptune and Sun came, it was a lot of fun playing with you!" She'd started out rough, but Ruby thought that she'd managed to stay articulate fairly well. Five sentences down, hopefully many more to go.

Blake nodded, averting her gaze conspicuously, but Ruby had a feeling she was pleased.

Suddenly, a sticky and suspiciously neon-green arm was slung around Ruby's neck. "You two done having your little heart-to-heart yet? Because I really need a shower right about now, and Ruby's driving!"

"Eww, gross, Yang, get off of me!" Ruby shoved her sister away in horror, and both Yang and Blake dissolved into giggles.

* * *

><p><em>Direct continuation from Ruby &amp; Me, though you could probably read it as a stand-alone too. I really just wanted to write a paintball war between Team RWBY and Team JNPR. My ideal would be no fewer than 7 chapters, with every breath and blade of grass described in loving detail. But alas, this will have to suffice.<em>

_And yes, the title is (almost) an Arctic Monkeys song, I just thought a literal interpretation of the title would be fitting. _


	10. The Futility of Obligatory Intimidation

_Prompt: n/a_

_Pairing(s): Ruby Rose/Yatsuhashi (yes, you read that right)_

* * *

><p>Yang continued to rip the napkin apart methodically, tearing each piece exactly in half as they got smaller and smaller. She'd already made a nice little pile of white paper scraps on her knee, each piece about the size of her pinky nail. She could probably get them even smaller if she tried, but Yang wasn't really paying much attention to her hands.<p>

A hum of disapproval rumbled in her throat as she watched the boy –man, _huge_ man, hell, he was even bigger than Junior− effortlessly pull Ruby to her feet. Even from across the training field, Yang could see her little sister's blush.

"God, _look_ at that creep, putting his hands all over her. Fuckin' cradle-robber."

Beside her, Blake let out a sigh, amber eyes never straying from the page of the novel in her lap.

"He's three years older than her, Yang."

"Exactly! You don't find that creepy?" Yang tore into the napkin scraps with renewed fervor.

"Not really…" Blake turned the page, clearly showing zero interest in Yang's obvious distress. "Ruby acts like a child, but she's not a baby anymore."

"Yes she is! She's growing up, sure, and I'm proud of her for that, but I don't think she's ready for… for whatever _this_ is!" Yang gestured towards where the pair had returned to their fighting stances. Despite herself, Yang felt a surge of pride at seeing how Ruby's form was getting better. The young leader had approached her not long after the fateful city breach, and Yang had been more than happy to help the girl with some hand-to-hand combat training.

But here she was, using Yang's teachings to flirt with some random guy.

"His name is Yatsuhashi," Blake told her sternly, "and he's not just some random guy." _Oops._ "If you'd ever accept my invitations to hang out with Team CFVY like Ruby does you would know him. Actually, you would probably get along with him quite well, he's a bit like Ruby. Just a lot quieter."

Ruby ducked below a wide left swing (_sloppy, how do you expect to protect her with a weak swing like that?_) and delivered a solid blow to the man's exposed ribcage before skipping back out of range.

Were they even flirting? It wasn't any kind of flirting that Yang was used to, that was for sure. Who even asked to train with someone as a way to flirt with them? Well, besides Pyrrha, and it seemed to work surprisingly well for her. Actually, that's probably who Ruby got the idea from.

It only took a moment, but Yatsuhashi suddenly had Ruby on the ground again. There wasn't anything intimate about their positions and Yang wasn't about to lie and say that he was being unnecessarily rough −actually, he seemed to be treating Ruby rather delicately, which only frustrated Yang even more− but Yang couldn't help but scowl further.

A gust of wind interrupted Yang's focused rage. Before either partner could react, the growing pile of shredded napkin previously resting on Yang's knee was blown into the air, showering both of them in flecks of white.

"Whoops!" Yang giggled nervously, brushing her front off and plucking away stray bits of paper. "I guess I shouldn't do that, huh?"

Snapping her book closed, the Faunus girl let out another sigh.

"What's gotten into you?" Blake finally growled, rounding on Yang. Her sudden change in attitude made Yang blink in surprise, and it took her a moment to answer.

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't like you. I never thought I'd see you of all people sulk like… like a petulant child!"

_Wow, bringing out the big guns, huh? I must be _really_ annoying right now._

Wait… Blake actually had a good point there.

"Why _am_ I sulking?"

Blake's ear twitched under her bow. "How should I know?"

But Yang wasn't listening anymore. She stroked a bit of torn napkin between her forefinger and thumb. Blake was right, it wasn't like Yang to sulk. She was a creature of action. If something bothered her in the past, she had always confronted it head-on. Why should this be any different?

Yang found herself grinning.

"Thanks, Blakey, I think I needed that!"

And with that, Yang leapt to her feet and strode off towards the training field, leaving her partner baffled and rather concerned.

* * *

><p>"You wanted to talk to me?"<p>

Wow, his voice was _not_ what Yang expected it to be. Thinking back, she wasn't sure she'd ever heard him speak before, and his voice seemed much too small for such a large person.

Even standing at her full height, Yang was a good four inches shorter than Yatsuhashi. Not the dynamic she had been hoping for, but she could make do.

"Yeah. I've got a bit of a bone to pick with you."

There was an awkward silence. Yatsuhashi simply gazed down at her, and Yang felt herself fumbling for something to say. _Nice going, me, off to a great start here_.

"You've been spending a lot of time with my sister lately." _There we go, right to the point._

"Yes."

Another silence. This guy does _not_ talk much. Yang was beginning to think that this whole "confront your problems" was a bad idea after all. But she couldn't back out now, so instead Yang cleared her throat and tried again.

"I'm here to give you a warning. Don't fuck with her, or I'll break your teeth."

There. That sounded suitably threatening. All she needed to do now was extract herself with her pride intact and maybe this whole debacle could be over with.

"What do you mean? Do you not want us to spend time together?" Oh god, he actually looked genuinely hurt by that. Backtrack, backtrack!

"No! No, I just mean, you know, don't do anything stupid or be a jerk to her!" Yang rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. This was definitely not going as planned. Where was Big Sister Mode when she needed it?

Yatsuhashi closed his eyes and nodded solemnly, as though Yang had delivered some kind of wise prophecy rather than stammered out an awkward explanation to her halfhearted threat. "I see."

There was another long pause before he opened his eyes and continued.

"Ruby is very nice. She listens to me and knows when I'm joking and laughs even when no one else understands."

Yang frowned. "Is that some kind of confession? Because I don't think I'm the one you should be saying that to."

"No, that's not it." He frowned as well, gazing off to Yang's left as he apparently tried to find the right words. Yang stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought. "I don't plan on being a jerk to Ruby because she is always nice to me, and I like being around her."

"Good to hear!" Yang felt herself grinning again, oddly put at ease despite how uncomfortable the entire exchange had been thusfar. "You keep thinking like that and I doubt we'll have any problems!"

* * *

><p>"So?"<p>

Blake had apparently retreated indoors to continue reading. A few bits of shredded napkin rested on the table beside her bed, and Yang shuffled in embarrassment at the memory.

"So what?" Yang asked cagily, knowing exactly what her partner meant. She wandered over to Blake's bed and flopped down across her partner's legs. Blake didn't even react, her gaze returned to the book she held.

"How did your roughing-up go? I don't see any black eyes, and you came in smiling, so I assume it was fine."

"Keen assessment, it went about as well as one could hope. Impossibly awkward, but I managed to threaten him successfully. I think. He was such a weird guy, I don't know what Ruby sees in him."

"Yatsuhashi doesn't like talking with strangers. If you get him comfortable he can be quite chatty." Blake turned the page in her book leisurely. Yang was fairly certain she just did it for effect sometimes. "He _is_ a bit odd, I'll admit. So is Ruby, though."

Yang wiggled up beside her partner and poked the smaller girl in the ribs. "What's that you're saying about my sister?"

"Just that the two of them have some of the most interesting conversations I've ever heard." Blake settled herself a bit, leaning in just a touch against Yang's shoulder.

"That's what I _thought_." Yang closed her eyes. She decided that she'd have a nice long talk with Ruby later. But now it was naptime.

* * *

><p><em>For future reference, at the time this was written we havehad no idea what Yatsuhashi is like. At all. He's appeared like... twice. And hasn't had any speaking lines. This was all made-up. __His personality in this vaguely reminds me of Rin from KS, actually. Easier to follow his methods of thinking though. I kind of want to write more of him, this was barely a snapshot and I spent way too long trying to figure out how I was going to write him to just leave things like this for good._

_Idea was suggested by a lovely reviewer, though Yang kind of crashed and burned at the whole Momma Bear thing. I just can't see her getting too aggressive towards a guy who obviously doesn't really understand what she's trying to do. _

_I'm planning on coming back to this, the pacing is off and I'd like to fix it, but I think I'll post it for now. _


End file.
